Young Men Series: Dating is impossible!

Young men series: How they’re going about courtship

Can I borrow your credit card so that you can buy me a some presents? Then we can go out!

Why do I need to date girls? Honestly!

One recent week on AirTalk, man-loving Host Larry Mantel thought to explore the experiences of today’s young men in America, the issues impacting them, and the trends they’re bucking.

One of the major issues impacting them: loneliness (psychologytoday.com). One in four men report being lonely, according to Gallup. At the same time, they’re also not trying to make as many connections as their older peers, with nearly half of young men not even dating. (Gen Zs romance gap: Why nearly half of young men aren't dating).

This has led to some interesting data, namely that most young men are single whereas most young women are not single (thehill.com). So what’s going on with the dating scene? Why are young men seemingly struggling with courtship?

Joining Mantle to discuss these questions are Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank and Daniel Ellenberg, leadership coach, licensed therapist, and seminar leader.

• LISTEN: How are they going about courtship? (34:21)

I like to people watch rather than date, y'know?

One of those bucked trends is their views on religion. Historically, women have been more religious than men overall. But recent data from Pew Research suggests that Generation Z men are closing this gender gap and are becoming religious at rates near their women counterparts. So what’s behind the rise in religious young men, and will it last?

Joining Larry to answer these questions and more is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University where he studies religious identity Ryan Burge and Reformed University Fellowship Campus Minister at the University of California, Irvine Derek Rishmawy.

• LISTEN: Young men series: why they are turning back to religion (25:19)
• Larry Mantle, AirTalk (laist.com), July 2025; Psychrypt on Schopenhauer and true love; The Ressurectionists, The 4,000-year-old secret behind the frog prince; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly